While a hint of sentimentality crept in for Patrick Vieira at the Etihad following his short-lived time as a Manchester City player, the Frenchman was simply focused on leading Palace to a respectable result at the home of the champions, and he certainly succeeded.
After Wilfried Zaha’s tame effort found its way past Ederson into the bottom corner with only six minutes gone, the Eagles held out for the next 82 minutes – during which time Aymeric Laporte was given his marching orders – and Conor Gallagher’s 88th-minute effort in front of the away crowd confirmed a memorable win for Palace.
Such a result ended a five-game winless run and a streak of four consecutive draws for Vieira’s side, who have now risen to 13th in the table and are one of only four sides in the division to have not lost any of their last five league matches.
One of those other outfits is Wolves, though, but there is much excitement to be had about this Palace side under Vieira, who will surely relish the selection headache about to appear before him when Eberechi Eze finally gets the green light to return to first-team action.
Furthermore, Palace have gone unbeaten in their opening five home games of the season – one of only two sides in the top flight to hold that accolade, along with Liverpool – and Vieira could follow in the footsteps of the revered Ian Holloway should his side avoid defeat at Selhurst Park once again.
Similarly, Wolves are also finding their feet under new leadership in Bruno Lage, who witnessed his side claim their fourth win from five Premier League matches with a hard-fought 2-1 success over Everton on Monday night.
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Two quickfire goals from Max Kilman and Raul Jimenez saw Alex Iwobi’s second-half strike pale into insignificance as the Wolves resurgence continues, with Lage’s side now taking 13 points from the last 15 on offer in the top flight.
Such a hot streak has seen Wolves suddenly surge into European contention in seventh place – just four points adrift of the Champions League spots – and the Molineux outfit have scored nine times in their five-game unbeaten run, with a rejuvenated Jimenez leading the charge.
While Palace have proven a tough nut to crack at Selhurst Park this term, Wolves can boast three wins from their last four away games – with their form on the road better than that of both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – and a spot in the top five could be theirs depending on results elsewhere this weekend
